Boduf Songs - There is Something Hanging Above You EP

2009; 5 tracks

Boduf Songs is Mat Sweet from Southampton (UK). There is Something Hanging Above You shows a very minimalist side to the musician, although I haven't exactly heard much else from him. I fell in love right away with this album's enchanting, sad atmosphere consisting of, primarily, his voice and his guitar. I love the touching piano parts as well, but "Left Behind Like a Piece of Shit" is my favorite track.

Download

Purchase

Dornenreich - In Luft Geritzt

2008; 10 tracks

Austrian atmospheric black metal band Dornenreich might still be my favorite group of all time. I prefer their earlier works in the vein of Durch Den Traum and Her Von Welken Nächten (a truly haunting album), but In Luft Geritzt, translated as "Carved in Air," is nothing short of a masterpiece. Abandoning their black metal roots, Dornenreich strips down to something of a bare minimal, but in no way "less," overall sound.

In Luft Geritzt is a neofolk album that wonderfully effuses all of that which every other neofolk album lacks. A raging, intense energy. It is present in Eviga's voice, Inve's mournful violin, and the frantic guitar's sheets of sound. With every track a new door is opened. The lyrics are especially evocative, as all of Dornenreich's are.

Download

Purchase

Stereolab - Not Music

2010; 13 tracks

This is UK-based electronic/indie group Stereolab's latest album... it's a dose of wonderful motorik/krautrock flushed with electronica using English and French lyrics. It really is something special.

Download.